Slay vampires with friends in Redfall, Arkane’s next Xbox exclusive

In a packed E3 Xbox showcase, Microsoft held back a brand new property to close the show: Redfall, a co-operative vampire slaying title coming to Xbox and PC next summer.

Developed by Arkane Austin – the creators of the Dishonored games and the 2017 Prey reboot – Redfall appears to blur the lines between single player and multiplayer, with Phil Spencer calling it an open-world shooter that players can enjoy on their own or with friends.

Although there was no gameplay footage, the trailer does give you a clue as to how the game will play, and it appears that those going it alone will be missing out on how team mates can complement their abilities with different classes and skills. The game will allow teams of up to four players to team up, publisher Bethesda says.

The name Redfall refers to the town where the game is set, by the way, but it does feel a bit like nominative determinism is at play here, given vampires seem attracted to a place named after the colour of blood. “The quaint island town of Redfall, Massachusetts, is under siege by a legion of vampires who have blocked out the sun and cut the island off from the outside world,” the official page on Bethesda’s site reads. 

“Trapped with a handful of survivors against diabolical enemies threatening to bleed the town dry, choose your hero from a diverse roster, grouping up with others to create the perfect team of vampire slayers.”

As it’s a Bethesda project, Playstation 5 players will be out of luck now the studio belongs to Sony’s archrival in the console space, but the game will be coming to Microsoft’s subscription service Game Pass on day one, just like 26 of the other 29 games showcased tonight. 

With the studio’s strong pedigree of single-player games, we can’t wait to see what Arkane has up its sleeves when it comes to shaking up the co-operative gaming market.